Dictionary

trilly en · ADJ

Etymology

From trill + -y.

Meanings

1. Having a trill sound.
   • This bird has a number of calls, but the most common is a loud chuck (Example 3). Immature birds utter a trilly note (Example 4), which is a common marsh sound in mid-summer. 1984, Donald J. Borror, Songs of Western Birds:
   • She was a sweet young thing with cheek dimples and a trilly laugh... 1914, Sewell Ford, Wilt thou Torchy:
   • He adores his bedtime baseball stories, even at his ripe old age. “It's called 'The Curse.' Wooooooooo!” Sol sings scarily in a trilly, ghostlike, gradually descending soprano. 2009, Bob Mitchell, Once Upon a Fastball:
   • 31 March 2011, Mallika Rao at RollingStone.com, American Idol Recap: Stuck In the Middle Paul McDonald, whose "Rocket Man" was wispy and unmemorable; Stefano Langone, still with the weird enunciations and trilly voice...

Forms